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catherine
10-3-12, 12:18pm
Got my permaculture design certificate on Saturday!

I fully realize that that means nothing until I actually continue my "apprenticeship." I know that there are a lot of you guys who have walked that walk without any old certificate, and I fully intend to take my place among you someday and earn the right to say I'm a permaculturist. So I humbly ask for your support as I continue to learn and find where I can do some good as a permaculture activist.

I am so excited, and not at all discouraged by my age. In fact I found this wonderful article about a Manhattan artist (http://www.oprah.com/world/Valer-Austin-Transforming-Dead-Land-in-Mexico) who wound up taking on the regeneration of the whole Southwest--when she was 59! So maybe there's hope for me to do some good.

Mrs-M
10-3-12, 12:36pm
Congratulations, Catherine!

You have my devoted support as you continue on your path to realize your dream. And, if I may, I'd like to say for you to forget about the age thing. You still look like you're in your 40's, so the world is yours for the taking!

P.S. I think you'll make for an outstanding Permaculturist!

catherine
10-3-12, 12:43pm
Congratulations, Catherine!

You have my devoted support as you continue on your path to realize your dream. And, if I may, I'd like to say for you to forget about the age thing. You still look like you're in your 40's, so the world is yours for the taking!

P.S. I think you'll make for an outstanding Permaculturist!

Thank you, Mrs-M!!!!!!!

JaneV2.0
10-3-12, 12:47pm
Does this qualify you to pull weeds? (regarding volunteer opportunities...)

Good work! http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/vishenka/d_daisy.gif

catherine
10-3-12, 12:57pm
BTW: this one's for you, Mrs-M. This is a drawing I did as part of my permaculture design: Notice the clothesline!

http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp6356%3A%3Enu%3D32%3C9%3E3%3C4%3E%3A3 3%3EWSNRCG%3D386%3A%3C%3A33%3C7337nu0mrj

catherine
10-3-12, 12:58pm
Does this qualify you to pull weeds? (regarding volunteer opportunities...)

Good work! http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/vishenka/d_daisy.gif

Hey, I'll pull weeds anywhere!

Mrs-M
10-3-12, 1:04pm
Holy smokes, Catherine, are you ever talented!!! Wow, wow, wow! What I'd give to be able to draw like that. P.S. The clothesline is the very first thing I spotted! LOL!

Not hard to tell my interests, huh...

P.S. The clothespin (extreme far right) looks as though I could pluck it straight off the line! Looks so real! Double prongs and everything! And I just LOVE the water-collection barrel!

Float On
10-3-12, 1:21pm
Neat! I'm excited for you!

puglogic
10-3-12, 2:10pm
Way to go, Catherine!!!

peggy
10-3-12, 2:52pm
Whoo Hoo! Now I know who to go to as I design my food forest!
congratulations!

Gardenarian
10-3-12, 2:52pm
Welcome to permie-world Catherine!!

puglogic
10-3-12, 3:16pm
Hey, I need a food forest too! Maybe Catherine can be Peggy's and my long-distance designer :) Love working with people I know......

SteveinMN
10-3-12, 6:46pm
Congratulations, catherine! It's always good to reach longstanding goals, and even more so to celebrate them!

Tussiemussies
10-3-12, 8:04pm
Congratulations Catherine, what a great thing to accomplish. Let us know about your apprentice experiences...

razz
10-3-12, 8:48pm
Holy smokes, Catherine, are you ever talented!!! Wow, wow, wow! What I'd give to be able to draw like that. P.S. The clothesline is the very first thing I spotted! LOL!

Not hard to tell my interests, huh...

P.S. The clothespin (extreme far right) looks as though I could pluck it straight off the line! Looks so real! Double prongs and everything! And I just LOVE the water-collection barrel!

+1 on the success, talent and drawing. Let us know how you progress and where you find some challenges that teach you skills that we all can learn about.

iris lily
10-3-12, 11:55pm
catherine, that's good news! We fell into the permaculture culture when we volunteered to be on the city tour recently for urban permaculture yards. It was weird to have everyone who toured our yard walk right past my lilies to DH's veg garden and fruit trees. That's not the norm when we open a garden for tour, but these people are, umm, well, focused shall we say.

Neither of us could come up with a coherent definition of permaculture, but all you need to do is follow DH around to see that he conserves, reuses, and adapts lots of things as a matter of course, farm boy that he is. But sad to say, as farm boy being educated at a Big 8 Ag school, he's also firmly on the side of chemicals in horticultural application, when needed.

Mrs-M
10-4-12, 12:51pm
Catherine. Was just wondering if you have your sights on any specific projects or ideas as of yet? Buildings, habitat, community living, etc. What field(s) do you plan on excelling in?

Blackdog Lin
10-7-12, 9:17am
Adding my congratulations.....what a wonderfully worthwhile field for you to learn about and contribute to!

redfox
10-7-12, 8:51pm
Congrats!

RosieTR
10-7-12, 11:08pm
Congrats, Catherine!

And Iris, my understanding is that permaculture is about balancing different needs, not about absolutes. Sometimes chemicals are needed....our permaculture club in Phx advocated using Roundup to get rid of bermuda grass if there was no way to dig it out on a particular site. They did advocate doing it the right way, by spraying at the right time, multiple times, then doing soil remediation rather than becoming dependent on it for spots here and there like most people probably actually use it. So I think he'd still be considered permaculture if he is circumspect about the use of chemicals.

catherine
10-8-12, 8:33am
Thanks, all!

To answer Mrs-M's question.. right now I'm simply going to explore until the right thing for me presents itself. I've joined a couple of Permaculture Meet-ups in my area and they have a lot of different programs. I REALLY need hands-on experience at this point more than anything else, so I'm being somewhat of a scientist... I'm growing winter stuff for the first time. I'm experimenting in saving some seeds, like cucumber. I'm going to try sheet mulch this fall. I've joined the local watershed partnership. I'll be volunteering for anything and everything just to get experience.

In the meantime, while I get that experience, I'm starting a permaculture blog--as soon as I can get my daughter to help me with the graphic design.

So, puglogic, unless I intern under Gardenarian or RoseTR or a few others here... I think I'll hold off on my own designs for a while :)

Mrs-M
10-8-12, 8:36am
I am so excited for you, Catherine! Best of all, you seem like the most perfect candidate for such a career! You already have the professional business-look, and IMO, that's a BIG selling feature! Presentation, is everything, when it comes to establishing/selling oneself in the corporate/business world.